Mum – In hos. Very depressed. P came at lunch time. Noone else. Mr R came for 10 mins & Jack & Janet Howard came in aft—only just learned I was in hos. Saw Dr. Pryor 11 am. He was very nice & got a complete history from me & then examined all bones. To keep on low calcium diet for 4-5 weeks then will see him again – privately. Mr A came twice. Had BP taken standing & lying. Bit depressed after all other ladies had gone home.
Roger – The 5th test started today. Even though the West Indies have
won the series it has attracted great interest. The West Indies’ batsmen have
opened well. We laid the carpet in the downstairs room and bought some new lace curtains. In the evening we went to the dogs.
Notes
Post-op Recovery
Mum was in the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital having had surgery for a renal stone just over a week earlier, see Chapter 116. She noted that she had her blood pressure tested lying down and standing up. Presumably, this was to detect orthostatic hypotension which can be associated with hypercalcaemia.
Depressed
Mum struggled with depression and anxiety during this period, see Chapter 116. On this occasion, she noted feeling very depressed. She also commented that she felt very depressed when all the other ladies had gone home which I presume means that other patients had been discharged but not her.
Visitors
Mum noted the people who came to visit her. P refers to my older sister Tricia (Patricia). She came at lunch-time. She was the only one of the siblings who visited mum on this day. Liz and I had gone to Birmingham with dad. My younger brother Alan was away at Boys’ Brigade camp, see Chapter 124.
Initially, mum wrote that no-one else came but she later crossed this out. Mr R refers to Rev Ream, the senior Minister at St Peter’s Park Lane Methodist Church, see Chapter 124. She did not get on well with him and I am sure that her note that he came for ten minutes reflects her critical tone!
Jack and Janet Howard were also friends of mum’s from church. Although mum had been in hospital for over a week, they had only just learned this.
Dr Pryor
The renal physician, Dr Jack Pryor, came to see mum at 11 am. She noted that he was very nice. He took a complete history from her and examined all her bones. He told her to stay on a low calcium diet for four to five weeks and he would see her again, privately.
Jack Sidney Pryor was born on 4 July 1933 and he died on 21 December 1988. He was a consultant physician, with a special interest in renal diseases, at the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital, Norwich. Born in London, he received his medical training at Charing Cross Hospital, where he was later to return as a senior medical registrar for a period of three years from 1966. In 1969 he was appointed senior lecturer in medicine at Charing Cross Hospital.
Then, in 1970 he was appointed head of the department of experimental therapeutics at Sandoz in Basle, Switzerland, and was responsible for designing studies in the early stages of the development of new drugs. In May 1971, he was appointed consultant physician in renal diseases at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, a post he held until his sudden death in December 1988. In 1958, Jack Pryor married Bridget Egan, a nursing sister at the Brompton Hospital. They had one son, Robert.
Mr Ashken
Mum’s surgery had been conducted by Mr Ashken (Mr A). He came to see her twice. During this period, mum was working as part-time medical secretary for his private practice and that of another surgeon, Mr Stephens, see Chapter 121. Michael Ralph Handley Ashken was consultant urologist at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital from 1968 to 1996. He was also President of the British Association of Urological Surgeons from 1994 to 1996. He was born in 1931 and he died in 2016. Mum was part-time secretary for his private practice from 1975 to 1980.
Fifth Test
In my diary, I noted that the fifth test between England and the West Indies started that day, see Chapter 123. Although the West Indies had already won the series, I noted that it had attracted great interest. I commented that the West Indies’ batsmen had opened well. In fact, at the end of day one, they were 373 for 3 and Viv Richards had scored 200 not out.
Carpet and Curtains
I was in Birmingham with my father, Royle Drew, and my younger sister Liz (Elizabeth). My parents had separated in 1973 and, at this point, dad was living and working in Birmingham, see Chapter 114. He was in the process of buying and moving into a new house in Walcot Drive in Great Barr, see Chapter 117. We were helping dad move into this.
On this occasion, we laid carpet in the downstairs room and bought some new lace curtains. I am not sure lace curtains are common now but they were pretty ubiquitous then, restricting people’s ability to look into a house and also marking that it was now occupied.
Greyhound Racing
In the evening, we went to “the dogs“, that is to watch greyhound racing. Dad was a fan of greyhound racing and I recall going quite often with him as a child and teenager. We had been two days earlier. As a child, he recalled that many miners had whippets and they used to involve them in rabbit coarsing.
Popularity of greyhound racing has declined since a post-war peak. In the 1940s, there were over 120 tracks across the UK whereas now there are around 20. Reasons for the decline included concerns about animal welfare and the availability of off-course betting.
I am sure we would have gone to Perry Barr Stadium for this. This opened in 1929 but it closed in 2025 and was demolished.
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